Teachers bring kids Apples to study science, literature.

Brieara Warren, 9, types in her story “A Captured Butterfly,” on an iPad as part of a research and writing project at Middleton-Burney Elementary in Crescent City. Librarian Nancy Pegg led third-graders through the writing exercise.

Corey Murillo uses a molecular dynamics simulation on an iPod Touch in Dusty Skorich’s 11th-grade chemistry class at Oakleaf High School. The teacher used an iPad, which was projected on a screen, while students worked at the same time using iPods.

There wasn't a single textbook on any of the students' desks in Dusty Skorich's chemistry class at Oakleaf High School.

Instead each student wielded iPods and manipulated molecules with the touch of their fingers while Skorich used an iPad to teach the course.

It's an example of how two districts in Northeast Florida are using touch technology to engage students with the hope of boosting academics.

And according to the students, the districts can definitely put a check mark in the engagement box.

"I like it; it's different," said Kiahna Young, 17, a junior in Skorich's class. "We get to use new technology and it's more interesting to us than looking through a book all day."

Skorich was teaching students how temperature affects pressure and the state of matter. On each student's iPod, red balls representing molecules bounced around in the view screen. The molecules bounced more vigorously or slowly as the students changed the temperature on their iPods.

Clay County schools spent more than $170,300 to outfit the district with 172 iPads and 158 iPods, with charging stations.

Oakleaf Principal Ed Paulk said the school used start-up money to purchase the iPads and iPods.

"There is no way to put a dollar value on the amount of learning kids have gotten from it, but I think it definitely has been worth the money and will continue to be," Paulk said.

In Putnam County, librarian Nancy Pegg took Nicole Carver's third-grade class through a writing exercise using two applications on the iPad. One program, called StoryKit, helps students outline fictional stories, then the students use Doodle Buddy to illustrate their stories.

The students came up with stories with titles such as "Iguana the Fierce Eater," and "Singer the Bee."

In the middle of the exercise, Joshua King, 9, shouts "this is fun."

"I like doing the iPads and writing the story," he said. "You get to make your own story and you get to draw your own pictures."

Marsha Cruce, Putnam's technology specialist, said Joshua's reaction is exactly why the iPads are worth the more than $42,500 the district has spent on them.

"The more tools that we can put into teachers' hands and students hands to engage them in education, it's an excellent way to invest in our future," Cruce said. "Without engagement you have nothing."

Carver said the technology helps to even the playing field for her students, many of whom come from rural poverty.

"These kids, unfortunately, don't have the ability to go home and necessarily use a computer," she said.

In a one-hour session the students, without thinking about it, covered science, understanding characters, vocabulary, reference and research, compare and contrast, writing, genre and author's purpose.

"It allows them to very quickly be able to do a lot of standards all at once," Carver said. "It's very engaging for the kids. As soon as you mention iPads or laptops, they're sold."

Back in Clay County, Skorich said the technology will give his students a leg up on their peers when they head to college and it makes his job easier.

"Because I can give them a directive and then I can sit there and watch them find their own way," he said.

Skorich said before using the iPods and iPads, it was up to students to visualize scientific principles at the molecular level or he'd have them act out the principles, but the iPods help his students to see the science through animation.

"It's a very effective tool, and they're excited to use it," he said.

Kiahna agreed. She said the iPads and iPods are not just cool but also helpful.

"If you're interested, you'll learn more," she said. "I paid attention today because it was really cool for me to see the different molecules moving like that."

I'm not "scared of technology." I just don't think it will result in any long-term gains if it is added to a previously ineffective learning environment. Something is obviously broken in our education system (by system I mean students, parents, teachers, administration, lawmakers, etc.). Adding a shiny new piece doesn't fix the broken one. It just masks it.

Wow. I hope when I get old I don't get scared of technology like the people in the top of the comments.

Using a tool like an ipad allows the kids to learn in several ways - visually, repetitively, audibly and verbally. A lot of people in this world have problems visualizing more complex science and simple things like sentence structure because kids are taught one way by one teacher each class. One teacher who happened to learn one way of looking at abstract subjects. Often times if you switch a struggling math student from one teacher to another, they greatly improve as the material is explained differently. Now that's unnecessary. Now the students can learn by the means their brains most effectively processes the information.

I think it's fantastic that the school is taking advantage of the technology that is available to give the kids a leg up in learning.